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Our Steampunk Opera is Love Letter to the Oceans

We’re deep into the process of finishing the sea creatures – or so I thought. Every time I work with Liz Baumann, lighted prop and clothing creator extraordinaire, it’s as if we’re shedding our human clothing for a moment, diving deep into the oceans and witnessing what goes on there with the eyes of our invertebrate ancestors. It’s a little something like this:

From a purely aesthetic point of view, there’s no improving on nature. As artists, we’re striving to find a balance between the formalized world view of Victorian science, where Creation is a series of collectibles to be removed to the comfort of the lab or drawing room as curiosities or for further study, and the heart-expanding wonder of life on this planet — all while keeping in mind the materials of the theatre artist of the era, primarily fabric, wood, and paint. Victorian-Edwardian era German botanist and Renaissance man Ernst Haeckel offers some direction:

Haeckel’s Opera Theater of Sea Creatures

As designers we’re always looking for the underlying pattern in things that will allow us to interpret them as a whole, to draw them in the same style, as it were. Haeckel’s drawings demonstrate the scientist’s quest for the underlying pattern as well, for repeated and unifying structures. The “line-iness” of his drawing style is a perfect starting place for an oceanscape painted by scenic artists in a cabaret or vaudeville traveling show. Can’t wait to show you some finished designs.

As David Gallo notes, we only even know about a few percent of the species living in the oceans. The question is, can we understand our essential relation to these blinking, color and pattern-changing, whimsically-painted monsters — and how would be behave if we did?